First Review - Nanofil

[Crestliner2008]

Just loaded up some new 10# test Nanofil on one of my spinning rigs. The line is very much in appearance to Fireline Crystal (very white!). It handles a bit differently though. It's very thin! Cast VERY smoothly. No sound at all. I did not get any line wrap around the rod tip or wind knots this morning. This line is rather round instead of flat like the Fireline and it does float. The breezes we had this morning did carry it however. Slack line in the breeze is not unlike thread.

Probably made 50 casts or so with it. I noticed that my casting distance has improved significantly. It has zero stretch and is a very opaque line; so I added a 2' fluoro leader of 12# test and tossed 5" Senkos wacky rigged. Yes, I did get a small bass - probably just a tad over 2 lbs.. Handled the fight quite well. Very little effort required to set the hook. So far, I have nothing bad to say about this line.

BTW, I was also trying out the new Gamakatsu "Wicked Wacky" weedless hooks for the first time. (Of course, I crimped down the barb, for easier hook extraction, in the even that a bass took my offering deep.) I think I like this hook as well as, or better than their Finesse Weedless model. It grabs weeds, yes, but comes free fairly easily and doesn't get hung up.

Two first for me and so far, two thumbs up!

[roadwarrior]

Great review. Please follow-up with more when you have fished it awhile.

Thanks!

-Kent

[NorcalBassin]

Nice review... I just hate adding leaders, get lazy, and go with straight fluoro. Maybe it's time for me to quit being so lazy.

[Hooligan]

Nice review... I just hate adding leaders, get lazy, and go with straight fluoro. Maybe it's time for me to quit being so lazy.

Why? Fluoro transmits slack line bites, braid does not. If you're tight-lining everything, fine; otherwise, superlines suck. Nanofil will excel as a walleye line. Using it in situations where you have a solid constant connection like trolling cranks, pitching rigs and jigs, and a couple other situations I can see it being exceptional. I do not, however, see it becoming a mainstay in the bass fishing world.

I've now fished two generations of the line, including the production model; my first instinct remains correct. I don't like the line at all. It has some good characteristics, but the bad outweigh the good. It floats so much that it drastically reduces the drop rate of baits, so much that it's a hindrance when fishing things like a weightless worm. It will, in some cases, float the worm. It gets a large slack belly with bottom contact techniques, and it skates on the surface of the water with many techniques. The only real benefit of the line, thus far, is that it has decent abrasion resistance.

Frankly, there are far better lines for bass fishing, in many situations, mono will treat the average angler better than Nanofil. The only perceived benefit in most situations is the increased casting distance.

[Five-Alive]

I have been fishing the 6lb. test on my drop shot rod for a few weeks now. Crestliner2008's review was very much like my experience but I will add along with there being no stretch came very extreme sensitivity. I could feel my weight coming over the bottom much better than I can with flouro. I have caught about 20 bass so far the biggest around 3 pounds but the line handeled them with ease. I tie a knot on my drop shot sinkers and several times when my sinker got hung the knot would pull through versus breaking the line. The 6 lb. is as thin as thread and casts with ease. I also ordered a 12 lb. spool since it is so thin but haven't thrown it yet.

[Crestliner2008]

Why? Fluoro transmits slack line bites, braid does not. If you're tight-lining everything, fine; otherwise, superlines suck. Nanofil will excel as a walleye line. Using it in situations where you have a solid constant connection like trolling cranks, pitching rigs and jigs, and a couple other situations I can see it being exceptional. I do not, however, see it becoming a mainstay in the bass fishing world.

I've now fished two generations of the line, including the production model; my first instinct remains correct. I don't like the line at all. It has some good characteristics, but the bad outweigh the good. It floats so much that it drastically reduces the drop rate of baits, so much that it's a hindrance when fishing things like a weightless worm. It will, in some cases, float the worm. It gets a large slack belly with bottom contact techniques, and it skates on the surface of the water with many techniques. The only real benefit of the line, thus far, is that it has decent abrasion resistance.

Frankly, there are far better lines for bass fishing, in many situations, mono will treat the average angler better than Nanofil. The only perceived benefit in most situations is the increased casting distance.

I've been fishing with just about every new product that's come down the pike for a lot of years. And I have to say - I have no clue as to what you are talking about!

What the heck is "slack line bites"? I'm assuming you mean that you cannot see or feel the bite on slack line? If that's the case and you can do it with MONO....then you must be living on a different planet. Bite sensitivity is directly proportional to the amount of stretch or water absorption in any line. Has nothing to do with it being a braid or filament line. Most braids excel in bite sensitivity. Certainly more so that fluorocarbon or mono, although fluoro does come close, due to it's resistance to water absorption. It still has stretch though, whereas braids do not.

"Using it in situations where you have a solid constant connection like trolling cranks, pitching rigs and jigs, and a couple other situations I can see it being exceptional." Well, that about says it all, now doesn't it! Except that when you are casting and cranking, you still have a "constant connection" as I see it.

You may be perfectly correct in everything you say and I may be in another universe - but I don't think so.

[Hooligan]

I've been fishing with just about every new product that's come down the pike for a lot of years. And I have to say - I have no clue as to what you are talking about!

What the heck is "slack line bites"? I'm assuming you mean that you cannot see or feel the bite on slack line? If that's the case and you can do it with MONO....then you must be living on a different planet. Bite sensitivity is directly proportional to the amount of stretch or water absorption in any line. Has nothing to do with it being a braid or filament line. Most braids excel in bite sensitivity. Certainly more so that fluorocarbon or mono, although fluoro does come close, due to it's resistance to water absorption. It still has stretch though, whereas braids do not.

Braid bellies, and you cannot feel a bite on slack line, often on subtle takes you cannot see them either. Fluorocarbon transmits that bite. It has everything to do with not being braid and nothing to do with water absorption or stretch. It has to do with the density of fluorocarbon line.

"Using it in situations where you have a solid constant connection like trolling cranks, pitching rigs and jigs, and a couple other situations I can see it being exceptional." Well, that about says it all, now doesn't it! Except that when you are casting and cranking, you still have a "constant connection" as I see it.

Then you see it wrong. When the line is under constant tension as in those situations where you're live bait rigging or trolling cranks.

You may be perfectly correct in everything you say and I may be in another universe - but I don't think so.

I'd take offense to your calling me an idiot, twice within the same post, but I'll consider it good natured fun, rather difference of opinion. There are many here, and elsewhere, that will back up every single thing I said about the line, some going further. I'm glad you like it, or seem to like it, but as with all things there are basis of fact as to why some others may not like it.

[Wayne P.]

I use a superline for just about every presentation, and I can feel a bsss take a weightless worm with slack line as well or better than with a mono of nylon or fluorocarbon. Slack line is part of the presentation.

It all depends on how the fish takes the presentation. Some instances no matter what line you use, you won't feel the take. That is why it is important to be a line watcher.

[philsoreel]

Fluorocarbon transmits slack line bites much better than any superline IMO. Add a little tension and the roles reverse.

[gobig]

I have to agree with crestliner about braid vs floro and mono. I used floro on my dropshot since the beginning and late last year switched to braid with a floro leader. I feel the bottom and bites that I never felt before. Not to mention no line twist. I think I am going to have to give this nanofil a try.

[WdyCrankbait]

Thanks for the reviews on the line, I have been very curious about it.

[Quillback]

Yes thanks for the review. I understand what Hooligan is saying about feeling a slack line bite using floro. Many times when I t-rig plastics I have slack line after giving it a hop or after dragging, I can feel fish pick it up when doing this. Works for jigs that are falling on slack line also. Does it work like that with braid? I don't know as I don't use braid in that application.

[RoLo]

Fluorocarbon transmits slack line bites much better than any superline IMO. Add a little tension and the roles reverse.

I'm a staunch advocate of braided line, but I totally agree with the above assessment.

Like most things in life, we can't have it both ways so we need to choose one camp or the other.

My next statement is sure to break from the herd, but I believe that instantaneous strike detection is overrated.

Given a mouthable soft-plastic lure, I find that most bass tend to mouth the bait a while,

and don't "inhale & expel" with lightning speed. When I finally get around to tightening the line,

the bass will usually still be there mouthing the bait, at least it appears that way to me.

To be sure, there are days when bass feed only halfheartedly, but on those days,

even tight-lining won't improve my hook-up ratio.

Roger

[Hooligan]

Yes thanks for the review. I understand what Hooligan is saying about feeling a slack line bite using floro. Many times when I t-rig plastics I have slack line after giving it a hop or after dragging, I can feel fish pick it up when doing this. Works for jigs that are falling on slack line also. Does it work like that with braid? I don't know as I don't use braid in that application.

No, with braid if there is any slack in the line at all, you feel nothing.

Rolo, I don't disagree with you at all; which is why sometimes I like fluorocarbon that much more. Many instances of feeling a fish, laying it to them, and missing, only to find thatthey had it by the claws or tails. Next cast, same spot, let them mouth it, landed fish.

[A-Jay]

Last month I filled 2 spinning rigs with Nanofil, 10 and 12 lb test. I planned on throwing a fluke rig with them at some surface schooling / bait chasing bass I'd located. Here's what I found. This is the ONLY bait / presentation I've thrown with this line.

It's thin and smooth and casts well.

It's sensitive and strong and transmits strikes very well.

It provides very solid hook sets and appears to have very little if any stretch at all.

*****During the retrieve, if the line is NOT under constant tension (which is the case for half the retrieve with a fluke)

the line spools VERY LOOSELY causing loops all over the spool. This is Highly undesirable especially on spinning gear.

As a result of the poor spooling, I have removed the Nanofil line replacing it with the 10 / 15 lb Power pro that was originally on these reels. Also I'm going to write Berkley for a refund.

A-Jay

[WdyCrankbait]

A-Jay, thanks for your trial with using the line. Mmm, I was going to try some, but I might wait a little.

Even though this line is specifically for spinning reels, has anyone put it on a casting reel? I'll probably work better on the smaller reels say a 50E vs. the 200E sizes.

[Glenn]

Berkley has been very clear from the get-go: this line is strictly for spinning reels. It will dig into itself on baitcasters.

[WdyCrankbait]

yeah, I do remeber somewhere reading that before now Glenn. Thanks for the reminder.

[kms399]

you may not feel the bite using braid on slack line but if you watch your line it will twitch, kind of like watching a bobber. I will stick with braid.

[Hooligan]

you may not feel the bite using braid on slack line but if you watch your line it will twitch, kind of like watching a bobber. I will stick with braid.

Nope, won't until it hits a point that it pulls the line tight.

[Quillback]

Can't see my line while night fishing.

[Quillback]

I should expand my comment a little, when I'm night fishing, which I do a lot this time of year, especially with this heat wave, I'm usually dragging bottom contact stuff like t-rigs and jigs. It's strictly fishing by feel, can't see the line or the rod tip. And I'm fine with that. I use floro, I can feel the bites when dragging through brush piles or over rocks. And when the bait falls on a slack line, I can feel the bite when it happens.

[joshholmes]

i think there really isn't any purpose in continuing this thread. everyone has their oppinions about the line and isn't going to change anyone elses

[WdyCrankbait]

What about the Nanofil knot? I mean is that the only knot, or "recommended knot," for using this line? The reason I ask is I like to use a Rapala knot and 4" senkos and walk the dog with them (then kill it). Thanks,

[jignfule]

i think there really isn't any purpose in continuing this thread. everyone has their oppinions about the line and isn't going to change anyone elses

The more opinions there are posted the more beneficial it is for use who have not yet decided whether or not to purchase Nanofil